I finished packing and weighed everything. I prefer to travel light, but it's hard to do "light" on Kili. Even harder when you have to drag your Kili gear for a week after the climb.
I was up til 1:00am weighing and figuring things. What will stay at the hotel and what will go up the mountain. What will be given away or consumed. What has to stay with me at all times. What I can really leave out.
My two duffels weigh 27lbs and 24lbs. Yeah that's a lot. But that includes 6-7lbs of stuff I'm taking over to donate to a school: markers, chalk, pens and - since it's World Cup season - a youth-size soccer ball with an air pump. I took out a fleece, a vest and an extra t-shirt. Only 2lbs or so, but that's progress!
My daypack, which I'm carrying on, is around 18lbs. This includes most of my camera gear and my netbook.
My mountain weight is probably OK. The guide will shake out my gear the day before, so if I need to shed stuff he will definitely let me know. I have a personal porter who can carry my daypack for me, but I'll probably have him carry my tripod (9lbs, with a not-very-light panoramic head) most of the time. If the pack gets to be too much, he gets the pack and I'll get the tripod.
Oh yeah, there's also a 33lb baggage limit on internal flights. I will have shed some weight by then (the donated stuff, snacks, gifts) but I'm going to be over that limit by a weighs. (ha!)
Carol from Kiliwarriors says there's no scale at the bush airstrip and it's pretty much an honor system. It's also ultimately up to the pilot whether to take excess baggage in the first place. She said previous clients have been over the limit by a little bit and it hasn't been a problem. I will find out firsthand just how strict that rule is.
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